Eee

Hot news for anybody hoping to kick off the summer with some touchscreen netbook action at the beach, as ASUS reveal their launch schedule for the Eee PC T91. The convertible netbook - announced all the way back in January at CES - will be arriving in the UK in late May or early June, with a MRSP of £449 ($675).

The ASUS Eee PC 1008HA "Shell" doesn't get its official UK release until May 15th, but that hasn't stopped Electricpig from unboxing the 1-inch thick netbook. ASUS' economy-friendly netbook alternative to the MacBook Air, the 1008HA is a mere £379 ($570) for what the company claims is their thinnest Eee PC yet.

ASUS Japan have announced their latest netbook, the ASUS Eee PC 1002HAE. Based on Intel's Atom N280 1.66GHz processor, the 1002HAE otherwise takes the chassis of the Eee PC 1002HA and redresses it in red, blue or gray aluminum and a longer name. Under the hood there's the same 1GB of RAM and 160GB hard-drive, together with a battery ASUS claim is good for up to 3.8hrs of runtime.

ASUS have confirmed the UK launch date for their Eee PC 1008HA "Shell", a week after stores began taking preorders for the super-slim netbook. According to the company, May 15th will be the first day the 1008HA will be officially available, with an MRSP of £379 ($572).

ASUS are planning an 11.6-inch Eee PC netbook which will launch later in May, according to CEO Jerry Shen, presumably to counter Acer's recent larger Aspire One 751. Specifications of the new netbook are unknown: ASUS could follow in the 751's footsteps and use a Zxx-series Intel Atom, or they could step up to one of the chip maker's CULV processors.

With the price of original ASUS Eee PC 7xx-series netbooks so low on eBay these days, it seems a great idea to revisit the concept of modding one into a small touchscreen UMPC. That's just what EeeUser forum member Mark has done, turning his 701 into a handheld with 2GB of RAM and draft-n WiFi.

ASUS' prince among netbooks, the Eee PC 1008HA "Shell", is beginning to show up for pre-order at various UK retailers. The rumor had been that the 1-inch thick Atom netbook would land in the UK sometime during April, but right now there doesn't seem to be a consensus among stores: estimates at Amazon are still putting it 1-2 months away, while the BT Shop suggests just 1-2 weeks.

ASUS have announced a new Eee PC, specifically for the Japanese market. The ASUS Eee PC 1003HAG's claim to fame is integrated WWAN that supports NTT DoCoMo's FOMA network, offering up to 7.2Mbps downlink rates. Otherwise it's pretty much in line with other recent Eee PCs, with Intel's Atom N280 processor and 1GB of RAM.

ASUS have been gradually transitioning to chiclet-style keyboards on their Eee PC netbooks, with the latest model to get the new style being the Eee PC 1000HA. If you're an existing owner looking longingly at the new layout, meanwhile, and specifically have an ASUS Eee PC 1000H, you can fudge your own update with the keyboard from the Eee PC 1000HE.